Pious Lutheran

Saint Michael and the Dragon,  Benjamin West, 1797 Angels fight for us. What are angels How have angels fought for us and still fight for us Christ, the greater Michael, who fights for us A blessed Michaelmas to you my friends! This Sunday we are observing the feast of St. Michael and All Angels. Considering the popularity of angels in our culture and the many misconceptions people have about them, it’s good to spend a day giving thanks to God for sending angels who fight for us. Today we will answer the question of what angels are, how they’ve fought for us and still fight for us, and how angels point us to Christ, the greater Michael, who fights for us. So, what is an angel? St. Paul wrote in Hebrews: “ Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? ” Angels are ministering spirits. So very importantly that means that they’re created beings. They’re not gods; they may be spirits and immortal, but they’re not gods. Jesus ...

Cleansing of the Ten Lepers,  Codex Aureus Epternacensis, 1035-1040 Jesus cleanses our flesh and our souls. The cleansing power of Jesus’ word and cross. Jesus cleanses our flesh. Jesus cleanses our souls. A mark of Christianity is purity. I know purity sometimes gets scoffed at, but it’s pretty important. We filter our water to cleanse it of impurities. Or how would you react if after eating a couple of cookies I told you they were 99% pure, and I got most of the mouse poop out of the flour? Or it was a little disconcerting when I learned a couple months ago that all rice is infested with rice weevil eggs and larvae; you can't eat a bowl of it without eating bugs hidden inside of the grains. Obviously impure food grosses us out, like finding half a worm in your apple. But wormy apples aren’t the end of the world, they’re just gross. The impurities which are worth worrying about are those which dwell in our flesh and our souls. When Jesus cleansed the ten Samaritans of their lepros...

The Good Samaritan , Joseph Highmore, 1744 Faith in God and love towards neighbor Works serve our neighbor and supply the proof that faith is living. Who is my neighbor? How should I treat my neighbor? “ Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? ” As soon as we Lutherans hear those words our spidey senses go off and we go on alert! It’s the wrong question, right?! We cannot do anything to earn our salvation, it’s all a gift! We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone! We can’t merit eternal life! That’s all true. However, did you notice that Jesus doesn’t correct the lawyer about that? He doesn’t rebuke him for work’s righteousness. He doesn’t tell him that he can’t earn his salvation, because that’s not the problem this lawyer has. The lawyer is merely rightly confessing what is written in Deuteronomy and Leviticus. In fact, Jesus Himself says this exact same thing elsewhere: “ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your so...

Christ Healing the Deaf-Mute , Philippe de Champaigne, 1665 Jesus opens our ears to hear and our lips to speak His Word. Jesus’ ministry was primarily to teach His Word. Jesus’ miracles were for the support of His Word. Today we hear and proclaim His Word. Why did we bother reading this miraculous account today? For that matter, why is this miracle even recorded in the Bible? Jesus performed tons of miracles, way more than what’s written in scripture, so what’s so special about this one? The miracles are recorded in the Bible to teach us. Through this miracle of the healing of a deaf-mute man, we learn to apply it to our lives, namely that Jesus opens our ears to hear and our lips to speak His Word. To help us understand that, we’ll discuss what Jesus’ ministry primarily consisted of, why Jesus performed miracles, and how today we also can hear and proclaim His Word. So first, what was the purpose of Jesus’ ministry? What was His goal? Jesus’ ministry was primarily to teach His Word. T...